New York Rangers head coach John Tortorella doesn’t like high-maintenance players with oversized egos. Torts wants every player who pulls on the Rangers’ sweater to be a foot soldier, performing all the grunt work required to outwork opponents on any given night — without a hint of bellyaching.

Nash fits the “Tortorella mold.” He’s a straight-ahead kind of guy and has been itching for an opportunity to play for a winner.

For nine seasons, Nash banged his head against the wall trying to lift the Blue Jackets out of mediocrity. Those years only resulted in one playoff appearance. Columbus was swept at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings.

The Blue Jackets have always been the little brother that’s gotten picked on by their bigger and strong Central Division brothers — the Red Wings, Blackhawks, Blues and Predators.

“I’ve watched him so much from afar when he’s playing with another team and seen him in international hockey. He’s a helluva player. I like the way he uses his body. We’re very happy he’s with the New York Rangers organization,” Tortorella told reporters on Sunday.

The Richards Effect

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Brad Richards missed the start of camp due to the flu. He is considered day-to-day and is not expected to miss any games. While the Rangers waited for the new collective bargaining agreement to be signed, they held informal on-ice workouts. Before Richards was struck by the flu, Nash spent a lot of time working on his line.

The two were paired together at the 2006 Turin Olympics for Team Canada. That experience is a long way back in the past, but Nash and Richards are trying to rekindle a quick understanding of where each other tends to be on the ice.

“In a shortened season, it’s the team that’s going to come out the quickest, it’s the team that gels the quickest together and gains chemistry. We’re trying to work on it and we understand we play in five or six days and we’ve got to be ready,” Nash explained to reporters on Sunday.

Richards’ numbers suffered a significant dip in his first season in New York. Despite playing 10 more games in 2011-12, Richards’ regular season points total dropped 11 points from his 2010-11 mark of 77. He rarely had consistent linemates last season. The addition Nash will solve that problem.

If Nash ever needs to pick someone’s brain over adjusting to New York, all he needs to do is seek out Richards.

The New York Effect

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Nash grew up in the hockey hotbed of Brampton, Ontario, and has represented Canada since the age of 18. The laid-back hockey community of Columbus wasn’t anything like Nash had experienced previously playing in the Ontario Hockey League and greater Toronto minor leagues, where hockey is a religion.